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Zips blank Bulls to begin quest for national title

By Michael Beaven
Special to the Beacon Journal

POSTED: 09:56 p.m. EST, Nov 22, 2009

A potent offensive attack and relentless defensive pressure are two things coach Caleb Porter can count on each time his University of Akron soccer team plays.

The top-ranked Zips continued their modus operandi Sunday with a 2-0 win over visiting South Florida in an NCAA Tournament second-round game played before a Lee Jackson Field record crowd of 2,700.

Junior midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong scored both goals and helped the Zips (21-0-0) defeat the Bulls (14-4-3), who ended UA's 2001 and 2007 seasons in the NCAA Tournament.

''I think it was good to get that first game out of the way,'' Porter said of the Zips, who had a bye in the first round after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

''I told the guys after the game that over the years that has oftentimes been one of the more difficult games that I have played in and coached in because it is a new feeling and it's kind of a new anxiety that you don't deal with until you get there.''

UA will host the winner of Stanford and UC Irvine on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Sweet 16.

Ampaipitakwong and junior midfielder Blair Gavin are the only Zips who started in Sunday's game and in the 2007 game against No. 16 South Florida.

''It feels great,'' said Ampaipitakwong, who has seven goals and five assists in 21 starts this season. ''It was two years ago. We don't think about that. This is a totally different season from anything we have ever had. We joked around about it as a team. It was kind of like revenge, but this is a whole new year and we are focused.''

Ampaipitakwong gave the Zips a 1-0 lead from 23 yards away off of a direct free kick in the 25th minute. He right-footed the ball around a wall of Bulls defenders and past junior goalkeeper Jeff Attinella into the upper left corner of the net.

''It was a moment I had to take,'' Ampaipitakwong said. ''I stepped up, saw the goalie cheated a little bit to one side, so I hit it back post and it went in.''

Zips sophomore forward Teal Bunbury set up the free kick by drawing a foul on Bulls freshman defender Ashani Fairclough.

Ampaipitakwong extended the Zips' lead to 2-0 from 22 yards away in the 33rd minute. He right-footed the ball into the upper right of the net past Attinella, who appeared to misjudge the shot.

''He is just a big-game player,'' Porter said of Ampaipitakwong. ''It doesn't surprise me. He always seems to turn it up a notch in the biggest games. The free kick was tremendous. He got the guy leaning toward his left and went against the grain and whipped it back. Special players make those types of plays to win games, especially in the NCAA Tournament.''

UA shut out its 15th opponent of the season, which ties a school record that the 2005 team set. Zips freshman goalkeeper David Meves was credited with his 13th shutout. Sophomore Kofi Sarkodie, junior Chris Korb and freshmen Zarek Valentin and Chad Barson were the Zips' starting defenders.

''I thought we defended very well,'' Porter said. ''Coming into the game, we wanted to disrupt their rhythm with pressure. I thought we were able to stop a very explosive, attacking team. South Florida likes to keep possession of the ball and control the game, but we were able to prevent them from doing that tonight.''

Gavin and senior Ben Zemanski were steady at midfield for UA.

Nanchoff injured

UA sophomore midfielder Michael Nanchoff started and played 21 minutes before leaving the game with a groin injury. He did not return. Freshmen Scott Caldwell, Ben Speas and Yoram Mwila played in Nanchoff's absence.

Porter said ''we don't know how he is going to be'' and added ''as much as we miss Mikey, losing one player will not change the way this team plays. I think we proved that tonight. We will continue to hope he is healthy and see where he is at. We have a week.''

Ampaipitakwong healthy

Porter said he is pleased to see Ampaipitakwong healthy this season.

''He was hurt for the first two years of his [collegiate] career,'' Porter said. ''He finally got healthy this year after he got surgery over the summer. The first two years he couldn't even shoot that [second goal] because he had a sports hernia and he had a groin pull. We are starting to see just how special this kid is now that he is finally healthy. He is capable of doing that. I am real proud of him.''

The two goals put Ampaipitakwong third for UA, behind Bunbury (16 goals) and sophomore forward Darlington Nagbe (10 goals).

''Ampai scored two brilliant goals,'' Porter said. ''With this team, it is always different guys that are scoring the goals. I know Teal has the lion's share of the goals, but the last several games it was Darlington, before that it was Teal, before that it was Ampai.''

A potent offensive attack and relentless defensive pressure are two things coach Caleb Porter can count on each time his University of Akron soccer team plays.

The top-ranked Zips continued their modus operandi Sunday with a 2-0 win over visiting South Florida in an NCAA Tournament second-round game played before a Lee Jackson Field record crowd of 2,700.

Junior midfielder Anthony Ampaipitakwong scored both goals and helped the Zips (21-0-0) defeat the Bulls (14-4-3), who ended UA's 2001 and 2007 seasons in the NCAA Tournament.

''I think it was good to get that first game out of the way,'' Porter said of the Zips, who had a bye in the first round after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

''I told the guys after the game that over the years that has oftentimes been one of the more difficult games that I have played in and coached in because it is a new feeling and it's kind of a new anxiety that you don't deal with until you get there.''

UA will host the winner of Stanford and UC Irvine on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Sweet 16.

Ampaipitakwong and junior midfielder Blair Gavin are the only Zips who started in Sunday's game and in the 2007 game against No. 16 South Florida.

''It feels great,'' said Ampaipitakwong, who has seven goals and five assists in 21 starts this season. ''It was two years ago. We don't think about that. This is a totally different season from anything we have ever had. We joked around about it as a team. It was kind of like revenge, but this is a whole new year and we are focused.''

Ampaipitakwong gave the Zips a 1-0 lead from 23 yards away off of a direct free kick in the 25th minute. He right-footed the ball around a wall of Bulls defenders and past junior goalkeeper Jeff Attinella into the upper left corner of the net.

''It was a moment I had to take,'' Ampaipitakwong said. ''I stepped up, saw the goalie cheated a little bit to one side, so I hit it back post and it went in.''

Zips sophomore forward Teal Bunbury set up the free kick by drawing a foul on Bulls freshman defender Ashani Fairclough.

Ampaipitakwong extended the Zips' lead to 2-0 from 22 yards away in the 33rd minute. He right-footed the ball into the upper right of the net past Attinella, who appeared to misjudge the shot.

''He is just a big-game player,'' Porter said of Ampaipitakwong. ''It doesn't surprise me. He always seems to turn it up a notch in the biggest games. The free kick was tremendous. He got the guy leaning toward his left and went against the grain and whipped it back. Special players make those types of plays to win games, especially in the NCAA Tournament.''

UA shut out its 15th opponent of the season, which ties a school record that the 2005 team set. Zips freshman goalkeeper David Meves was credited with his 13th shutout. Sophomore Kofi Sarkodie, junior Chris Korb and freshmen Zarek Valentin and Chad Barson were the Zips' starting defenders.

''I thought we defended very well,'' Porter said. ''Coming into the game, we wanted to disrupt their rhythm with pressure. I thought we were able to stop a very explosive, attacking team. South Florida likes to keep possession of the ball and control the game, but we were able to prevent them from doing that tonight.''

Gavin and senior Ben Zemanski were steady at midfield for UA.

Nanchoff injured

UA sophomore midfielder Michael Nanchoff started and played 21 minutes before leaving the game with a groin injury. He did not return. Freshmen Scott Caldwell, Ben Speas and Yoram Mwila played in Nanchoff's absence.

Porter said ''we don't know how he is going to be'' and added ''as much as we miss Mikey, losing one player will not change the way this team plays. I think we proved that tonight. We will continue to hope he is healthy and see where he is at. We have a week.''

Ampaipitakwong healthy

Porter said he is pleased to see Ampaipitakwong healthy this season.

''He was hurt for the first two years of his [collegiate] career,'' Porter said. ''He finally got healthy this year after he got surgery over the summer. The first two years he couldn't even shoot that [second goal] because he had a sports hernia and he had a groin pull. We are starting to see just how special this kid is now that he is finally healthy. He is capable of doing that. I am real proud of him.''

The two goals put Ampaipitakwong third for UA, behind Bunbury (16 goals) and sophomore forward Darlington Nagbe (10 goals).

''Ampai scored two brilliant goals,'' Porter said. ''With this team, it is always different guys that are scoring the goals. I know Teal has the lion's share of the goals, but the last several games it was Darlington, before that it was Teal, before that it was Ampai.''



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UAEngineering
Highland Square, OH

Posted 10:22 PM, 11/22/2009

GO ZIPS! Let's set another attendance record next week.

Get better Nanchoff!














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